There are at least two factors that come into play when one talks about public speaking. First off of course, just having the self-confidence to do so. Another factor we probably don't even think about is we need to have something to say.

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There are at least two types of speaking to give consideration: prepared speaking & impromptu.

While creating a ‘prepared’ speech, you have to keep in mind the audience that you will be speaking to. What will their level of comprehension be? While the simple formula of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Sasquatch) might be appropriate in many situations, it wouldn’t be if you were speaking to an audience of educated people. Educated in the sense that they are knowledgeable about your topic. They, would likely be offended.

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If you have read any of my responses to questions here on Quora, you will know that I tend to take a different approach to most if not all others.

You ask for advice for something else besides ‘just practicing’ to develop your extemporaneous speaking skills. To develop any skill, it is a matter of learning the theory behind the skill that you want to improve, then putting the lessons learned into practise. A step that is often missed is in receiving constructive feedback on how your practicing the skill went. The final step is integrating the advice from your feedback into your next practice session.

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My short answer is that being skilled in public speaking is the difference between a professional that has lots of ideas, that nobody gets to hear about and a professional that becomes a thought leader who is sought after to hear what they have to say.

A big part of being a professional is being able to share your ideas with others and persuade them to take action, based on your suggestions. It doesn’t matter what your profession is, they share common characteristics. One of the basic tenets of being a professional is giving back to the profession by adding to its body of knowledge or sharing one’s experience with others.

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The short and quick answer to this question in my mind is that you find the ideal speed for speaking in public by trial and error.

As North Americans, it is often said that we speak at a rate of between 125 and 175 words per minute. The challenge is that we don’t know how fast our audience is capable of not only hearing us, but understanding us.

Speak too slow and the audience gets bored and restless. Speak too fast and you start to lose audience members that can’t keep up. They get frustrated and turn you out.